Governor plays down electric car proposal

JAKARTA (JP): The governor said yesterday that the city has yet to receive a proposal on alternative mode of public transport.

Governor Surjadi Soedirdja was responding to reports on a four-wheeled electric car proposed by a private company for use in residential areas.

He declined to say whether the electric car was being considered to replace the three-wheeled bajaj.

"We only want to serve the public with comfortable and safe transport," Surjadi said.

The city is phasing out three-wheeled public transportation means. Becak were removed from the city following a December 1990 city regulation and now the administration is phasing out bemo.

Vehicles like bajaj would be gradually replaced by other vehicles but Surjadi did not mention a specific date.

"Bajaj can transport people but is it safe? Is it comfortable?" Surjadi queried.

There is a concept to replace bajaj, he added, but whether by an electric car or another vehicle has yet to be discussed.

"We appreciate the offer from the company but the administration should not be pushed into accepting it," he said.

PT Wahana Bakti Utama, a company under the Army's Yayasan Eka Paksi, tested its four-wheeled electronic car Friday at City Hall. It proposed the vehicle as a cheaper alternative to motorcycle taxis (ojek) in residential areas.

Soeroso, the company's operational manager said earlier that the pollution-free electric car was economical and safer than transport using gasoline.

He said the electric car, named "molek" (mobil electric), took Rp 10 per kilometer to run while a gasoline-powered car would cost Rp 58 per km.

The 36-voltage power car has a speed of 40 km per hour. The battery needs to be recharged every two hours and has enough power to cover 80 km. The car is a modification of a Hyundai golf cart and can carry eight passengers.

Agus Pramono, the company's general manager, said the firm plans to try out the electric car in the Bumi Serpong Damai complex in Serpong, Tangerang.

Officials said the city would have to conduct several studies on the proposed vehicle before reaching a decision. (11/ste)